Friberg Lexicon and "TOUCH" in 1 Cor. 7:1
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Tue Jun 18 03:13:19 EDT 2002
> The Friberg Lexicon says that hAPTESQAI is used idiomatically in
> 1 Cor. 7:1
> to mean "to marry." This would support what I was saying. "It
> is good for
> a man not to marry/be concerned w/ a woman" (that was the main point I was
> trying to make).
>
> in Christ,
> Jonathan B. Ferguson
These kinds of questions are what bible translators struggle with. First, to
get a good grasp of the meaning intended, one needs to study the whole
section, and in this case the relevant section is 7:1-7. There is often a
sandwich structure in a text based on or influenced by Semitic thought
structure, or more technically an inclusio, which means that the beginning
and end of the section link up and cover the same idea in different words.
In this case, there seems to be a link between "not touching a woman" and
Paul's comment: "I wish that all were as I am", that is, having the gift of
living in celibacy.
If we translate hAPTESQAI as the English "touch" only, we are not
communicating the connotation of sexual touching that Kevin mentioned. It is
quite likely that the word here refers to sexual contact, but may be used as
a metonymy for marriage, since sexual relations outside of marriage is
called PORNEIA in the following verse. However, if we translate the word as
"marry" we are losing the focus on sexuality which is part of the meaning of
the word and a prominent topic in the following verses.
Maybe one option for a translation that tries to communicate the intended
meaning in English would be "It is good for a man to live in celibacy"?
Iver Larsen
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